North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile toward the sea on Thursday, according to officials in Japan. The Japanese prime minister's office confirmed the detection of the suspected launch but did not provide additional technical details regarding the projectile. Similarly, South Korean media reported that the North had fired an unidentified projectile off its east coast, citing military sources.
This latest development comes only one day after North Korea publicly rejected a U.S. decision to scale back the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises. The reduction in the drills had been ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump, who cited his personal relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea's refusal to support him regarding the conflict in Iran as primary reasons for the move.
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of the North Korean leader, dismissed the U.S. overture on Wednesday, labeling it unworthy of comment. She argued that the fundamental nature of the exercises remained aggressive and provocative, regardless of any adjustments to their size or duration. "If the U.S. calculates that it can propagate its recent measure as the one of so-called good faith, they will not get the desired answer," she stated. In her remarks, she also pointed to previous military drills conducted by the U.S. and South Korea earlier this year, as well as South Korea’s ongoing efforts to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, as evidence of sustained hostility.
U.S. Army soldiers try to dismantle a floating bridge during a training exercise on a river in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. Ahn Young-joon/AP hide caption
